Second Chances
by crazy little witchy
Summary: [FINISHED] This takes place in The Uncertainty Principle. What if something had gone horribly wrong when Joan and Ramsey were in the forest? With an alternate ending for all of you who didn't like the last one :
1. Silence

This take place in the episode 'The Uncertainty Principle' It's like an alternate ending

I have to say some things before you start _reading_:

_Any medical stuff I get wrong it's because I'm not a doctor and all I know is what I've learned after watching **a lot** (and I mean **A LOT**) of ER episodes_

_I'm going to use some ER characters because I'm not good with names, and they already have names and I thought, so why not borrow them for a while...?_

_You don't have to have watched, or watch ER to understand this; the names are all that I borrowed. _

_This is not a JoA/ER crossover. They're not even on the same coastline :p_

And I can't say anything else without giving a little of the story away, but at the end I put a little glossary with some definitions just in case you don't understand something

Hope you enjoy it :)

__

_ Second Chance: Chapter 1. Silence _

Ramsey and Joan on the forest

"You know what my record is? It's 12 hits in 14 shots. [BANG] You have to fire between heartbeats." Said Ramsey as he got the gun out of the trunk and fired at some bottles

"This wasn't supposed to happen. You weren't supposed to get expelled!" Said Joan crying and scared of the gun Ramsey had in his hands

"Don't worry Joan [BANG] I still had a pretty good time. [BANG]" He said getting angry every time he missed a target

"No, you didn't. This isn't a good time! Ramsey if you would just... let people see, like, your whole spectrum, show them some of your light" Said Joan trying to calm him down

"All people want from me is a creeped-out, psycho gun freak, so that's what I give 'em!! [BANG] [BANG] [BANG]

(The police pull up with the sirens on)

"What why is the police here?" Ramsey said turning around quickly

[BANG]

-Silence-

That's the thing that really hurts, the 1/2 second of wondering where is the bullet going?, The 1/2 second of worrying if its going to hit you, the 1/2 second of silence before you feel the pain.

"Oh no!! Joan!!!" Said Ramsey desperate, he really hadn't meant to shoot Joan. "I swear it was an accident I didn't mean to do that I... I..."

"Ow" Was all that she could say. Joan was still standing with a shocked look on her face and her hands on her stomach

"Put your gun down son" Said Will from the car "Joan come here get in the car"

"I'm really sorry Daddy" said Joan in an almost inaudible whisper. Ramsey dropped the gun and ran over to where Joan was standing catching her as she started to fall

"Joan? Joan!!"' Will ran as fast as his feet could to where Joan was, Adam ran behind him. The other officers followed.

"Joan honey? What's wrong? Are you ok?" Asked Will not noticing the blood on Joan's black dress

"It was an accident I swear I would never hurt her" Said Ramsey crying

"You did this??" said Adam jumping on Ramsey hitting him as hard as he could. The other officers quickly separated them.

"It really was an accident daddy"

"Someone call dispatch for an ambulance!!!!" Said Will desperate, finally noticing the blood on Joan hands and her dress

"On it" Said the officer who was holding Adam, letting him go

"Joan, you're going to be ok." Said Will starting to cry, "The ambulance is coming. You're going to be OK, you're going to be OK" That last part sounded more like he was trying to convince himself and not Joan. He had seen so many buddies of him, other police officers, die of injuries like this.

"Jane? Don't worry your dad is right" Said Adam kneeling besides her

"Adam..." Joan's eyes glowed when she saw him "You really think so?"

"Unchallenged"

"Ok, Where's Ramsey?" Asked Joan. Adam looked hurt, but responded anyway

"He's in the patrol car"

"Adam you... you tell him to... not lose his light. That... this wasn't his fault" Said Joan in labored breaths

"You'll be able to tell him yourself Jane" Joan smiled and then blacked out "Jane? Jane?"

The ambulance arrived

"Look Jane, the ambulance is here. You'll be fine" Said Adam to the unconscious Joan

The paramedics got down to where Joan was. They quickly assessed the situation and placed her on the stretcher

"How long has she been down?" Asked a paramedic

"Just now. She was talking to us" Said Will

"We only have room for one on the ambulance. Who's coming?"

"You go Mr. Girardi" Said Adam understanding that Jane needed her dad more that she needed him right now to make all the medical decisions

"All right, Adam take my car and go back to the dance. Tell Helen and Luke what happened. She'll call Kevin"

"Ok Mr. Girardi" Said Adam grabbing the keys to Will's car

"Is she allergic to any medicines?" Asked the paramedic

"No" And with that he got on the ambulance and left

Adam took a moment to process all that had happened. Then he got to the car and went back to the dance as fast as he could.

**Back in the gym/dance__**

Helen was still outside of the gym with a worried expression in her face. That dance had carried on as normal, because none of the other students really knew what had happened.

"Mrs. Girardi!" Said Adam getting out of the car

"Adam is everything ok?" Asked Helen really hoping for Adam to say yes, hoping he would tell her that her little girl was at home getting a really long speech from her father

"No Mrs. Girardi, Jane is hurt Mr. Girardi went with her to the hospital in the ambulance and told me to come get you and Luke, and that you would call Kevin"

"God no. She's hurt??" Whispered Helen in shock "Luke!! Luke!! Get out here" Screamed a hysterical Helen to the inside of the gym

"Did they found her? Is she in trouble?" Asked Luke worried with Grace behind him. He was seeing the expression in his mother's face and didn't like it

"Ramsey shot her, we have to go to the hospital. Let's go" Adam said really quickly motioning for everyone to get in the car

"I'll go too" Said Grace "And I think you better drive Adam, Mrs. G is too nervous"

"All right" Said Adam. Everyone got on the car and they left

**At the newspaper Kevin was working late on some article**

[Ring, Ring] Rebeca picked up the phone "Rebeca here. Uh-huh, uh-huh, are you sure? Yes, ok. Thanks. Bye." Rebeca hung up and ran to Kevin's office

"Kevin I just got a call from another reporter. He said that the daughter of the chief police is on her way to the hospital with a gunshot wound"

"Joan? No way. She's at some dance thing in the school. He must have been wrong" As soon as he said this his cell rang "Hello. What!! When!! I'm on my way!"

"What is it Kevin?"

"That was my mom... It IS Joan. She's on her way to the hospital"

"Come on. I'll drive you. You're too nervous right now"

"Ok. Thanks Rebeca" And they left as fast as they could

**University Hospital (_That's the name of the hospital in 'Silence'_)**

"Dr. Ross we got a trauma coming in" Said the receptionist of the ER

"Ok. What do we got?" Asked the doctor to the paramedics

"Unconscious 16 year old female, GSW to the abdomen, we started an IV in the ambulance. Pulse weak, but stable. Her father came with us and other family members are on the way"

"Okay, let's go to Trauma one. Carter get in here!!" He said entering the room called trauma one "Pupils equal and reactive. Carol draw a blood gas, CBC, and a tox screen, just in case"

"What do we got?" Asked Dr. Carter coming in

"16 year old with GSW to the abdomen. I need you to tube her to secure her airway."

"On it" Said Carter "I need a 6.5 ET tube"

"Who do you think did it? Angry boyfriend? By the looks of her clothes she was at some party. Maybe one of those Christmassy ones, I heard the high school's having one of those."

"Arcadia's high school dance is today, my kid is there. Maybe the boyfriend got jealous 'cause he wasn't the one she went with" Said one of the older nurses in the room

"I just hated High school" Said another nurse

"We got an entry wound on the abdomen near the spleen, but where's the exit wound?" Asked Dr. Ross

"Don't know, let's roll her" The doctors and the nurses helped turned Joan to her side without moving her much

"Damn. No exit wound. Carol look for the portable Ultrasound machine. We need to find that bullet before it reaches the heart" Dr. Ross said to one of the nurses

"I'll be back in a second" Said Carol and left the room

"She's tubed. Malik you bag her." Said Carter to another nurse and continued examining Joan "Dr. Ross abdomen's rigid"

"Here's the ultrasound machine Ross" Said Carol coming in

"Okay. Carter prep for a peritoneal lavage, it could be her spleen. Carol, page surgery and tell Benton to get down here. We may need him"

"Ok"

"Now let's find that bullet" Dr. Ross turned on the ultrasound machine "It's not in the liver, that's good. Not in her spleen. Please don't be in the heart. Damn! It's in the heart."

"SHE'S CRASHING!" Said the older nurse "V-fib"

"Give an amp epi. Charge paddles to 250 and... Clear" Said Dr. Ross shocking Joan back to life

"Sinus, Normal rhythm again"

"Dr. Ross peritoneal lavage is positive she has internal bleeding. Could be her spleen the entry wound is near it" Said a very worried Carter

"I'll go talk to the family" Said Ross throwing the bloody gloves in the floor

"Where the hell is Benton?!" Screamed Carter as Dr. Benton came through the door

"Here I am. What do we got?"

"16 year old with GSW to the abdomen. No exit wound. The lavage was positive for bleeding and the bullet is lodged in her heart. She just crashed, but we got her back"

"All right let's move quick. Carter come with me" Said Dr. Benton and left with Joan

**Waiting Room** _-5 minutes before-_

Will was pacing around the room the waiting making him crazy.

"Will"

"Dad"

"Mr. Girardi"

"How is she?" Asked Helen Luke and Adam at the same time

"They told me to wait here, that someone would come talk to me soon" Said Will relieved now that his family was here

"Why our little girl? Why Joan? I told her not to get in the car with that boy. Why didn't she listened?" Said Helen crying in her husband shoulder

Will hugged her, calming her down "I don't know why Helen. I just don't know why"

"Dad!!" Called Kevin coming through the door and spotting his family with Rebeca behind him "She'll be ok won't she?"

"I... I still don't know Kevin" Said Will disappointed

"It's Jane everyone of course she'll be All right" Said Adam trying to lighten the mood

The doctor appeared in the waiting room

"Girardi's?"

"That's us. What's wrong with her? Is Joan Ok?"

"The surgeon is going to take her up to surgery"

"Surgery?" Asked Will shocked

"The bullet possibly damaged her spleen and they may have to remove it" Said Dr. Ross calmly trying to explain the situation

"Oh god! I'll give her mine!!" Said Helen hysterically

"Don't worry, she can live without one. Now the more serious condition is that the bullet didn't pass through as they normally do. This one stayed inside her, and traveled to her heart. That's very serious. I need you to sign this form to consent her surgery"

"Oh, of course" Will signed the consent

At that moment Dr. Benton was coming down the hallway with Joan in the gurney. Everyone stared at her shocked. That wasn't Joan, just some girl that looked her. That couldn't be Joan with the tube in her mouth, and all the IV's. It was just another person that looked like her... a lot.

The elevators doors opened as the monitor beeped again

"She in V-fib again" Said the nurse

"Charge paddles to 300... Clear" The monitor stayed flat lined "When was the last epi?"

"3 minutes ago" Said the nurse

Helen felt her heart had gone to her throat "God no, please..."

"Too soon to give more. Charge again 300... Clear" Dr. Benton yelled again. This time the monitor beeped normally again

Helen breathed again "Thank you" She whispered

"Let's move her up quick!!" Said the doctor and they disappeared in the elevator

**-----------------------------------------------------------------------**

End of chapter one. Next chapter should be up soon. And I do mean that. I plan to finish this story.

Now a little dictionary in case you didn't understood something:

GSW: Gunshot wound

BAG 'EM: Put someone on a respirator

TOX SCREEN: Blood tests to determine what drugs a person took.

A PERITONEAL LAVAGE is a test for abdominal bleeding wherein blood is washed out of the abdominal cavity

There's a link in case you want to know something else: _http:www2.warnerbros.com/ertv/medicalgloss.html_


	2. Ask me no questions, I’ll tell you no li...

YAY! I'm so happy with all the good reviews I'm writing this now, and I was planning to write it tomorrow :)

_Payton Tyler_- Thank you! The medical stuff was the first thing that I wrote. I always wanted to see Strong Medicine too, but I always forget when is it and in what channel :p

_Magical Turkey_- I can't promise anything...

_AL- _Yes, I've seen it happen on the show before. I think it's because the blood flow eventually it leads to the heart.

Thanks to everyone else who review, cookies for everyone!  (:.) (:.:) (:.) (.:)[-- Those are the cookies, hope everyone likes chocolate chips...]

And something I forgot on the first chapter- I don't own nothing {I just borrow and don't return} ;)

Now chapter 2:

_Second Chances: Chapter 2. Ask me no questions, I'll tell you no lies_

**-After the doctors took Joan up to surgery-**

"Now the surgery is probably going to take a few hours, all you can do now is wait. There's a cafeteria on the other side of the street, the food there is kinda decent if anyone is hungry. And there's a chapel in the eight floor if you want to go pray. I'm going to call a nurse that can take you up to the surgical waiting room. Carol come here"

"What is it Dr. Ross?"

"Can you show the Girardi's up to the surgical waiting room?"

"Sure, follow me."

"Thank you doctor" Said Helen and with that they followed Carol to the fifth floor

**-Surgical waiting room, 5th floor-**

"This is it" Said Carol "Now you can go ask the receptionist for more information on Joan. I really think she'll make it. She's young and healthy"

"Thanks" Said Will to Carol as she left

"I'll go ask the receptionist Will" Said Helen "See if she knows something new"

"Ok. Adam, Grace if you want to go I can take you home" Offered Will

"No thanks Mr. G" Said Grace "We'll wait until she comes out of surgery to see if she's fine. But I'm going go call my parental units"

"Uh, me too" Said Adam and they left to find a phone

"The receptionist only knows the same thing we already knew, but I left her your cell number and she said she'll call if anything happens or when they're finished and we're not here" Said Helen coming back

**-Later-**

Everyone was sitting talking to each other except for Helen that was just sitting alone. She got up from her chair

"Where are you going honey?" Asked Will

"Eight floor" Said Helen

"Oh, then I'll go too" Said Will

"I want to go too" Said Kevin

"I'd like to go too" Said Luke

"All right then let's all go" Said Will as everyone stood up

"Don't worry Mr. and Mrs. G, Rove, Rebeca, and I will stay here, and if they say something we'll go get you" Said Grace.

"Thanks Grace" And the family left

**_-This is what Joan is thinking while she is unconscious-_**

"I think I have a headache. Why is it so dark in here?"

"You just have to open your eyes Joan" Said another voice

"Oh, I knew that" Joan opened her eyes "Hey, Where am I? What's this place?" Joan was standing in the Trauma room while they were working on her; she was kind of a ghostly see-through transparent "Oh! Oh! That's me. Why is that me? What happened?"

"You're in the hospital Joan" Said the voice of cute boy God.

"Am I dead?? Oh God!! I'm dead!! I'm dead!! I'm dead!!!" She screamed running hysterically in circles passing through all the stuff in the room  "And now I'm a ghost!! " She stopped running for a second "Wait, if I'm dead, then where is the garden and the fountains and flowers and all that stuff?"

"You're not dead Joan, look the monitor is beeping"

"Oh Thank God"

"You're welcome"

"What happened?"

"What's the last thing you remember?"

"The dance, then I was with Ramsey, then pain, blood, my dad, Adam... Adam was there. And then darkness, until now."

The monitor went flatline

"Oh, oh. _Now_ I'm dead!! Do something!" Joan screamed at the doctors as they worked and shocked her back to life "Oh thank you doctor" Then the other doctor came in and took her "Where are they taking me?"

"They're trying to make you better."

"I thought you said nothing was going to happen to me"

"I said I've never endangered you _before_. Things happened the way they were supposed to happen. It's all part of the plan"

"The plan was for me to get shot? The plan sucks" She said mad

"It's a perfect plan Joan"

"Am I going to die? Is that part of the plan too?"

"Joan, you know I can't tell you that"

"You know, Rocky told me I'm supposed to die February 5, 2066. And since I don't know if you own a calendar, that's not today!!"

"Come on Joan, let's go far a walk" God said and took Joan to the waiting room where her family was standing talking to the doctor

She heard the doctor say she was going to have surgery

"What!! Surgery!?" She paused a second "So if I'm having surgery right now, why am _I _here?"

"It's called out of body experience, a lot of persons have had them. It's a little something I made to make persons think of something or see something they would usually ignore"

"So I'm supposed to see of something?"

"There are some things you need to figure out on your own, See you Joan"

"Wait, you're leaving?" Joan asked, but God had already left

Then she watched herself being shocked again, and she saw the expression on everyone's faces. "Why didn't it worked? I don't want to die!" They got her back "Thank you"

Joan stood there a second not knowing what to do. She then followed her family and friends to where they were going.

Now they were in another waiting room. She watched her family sitting there and listened to what they were saying. God had told her to listen and she was.

Then her family got up to go some eight floor. Adam, Grace and Rebeca stayed there. She didn't know where they were going but followed them anyway.

**-Eight floor, The chapel-**

The chapel was small, but comfortable. It had white flowers as decoration, and 10 rows of seats. There was an altar in the front.

Everyone sat in a different row, except Kevin that stayed in his chair. The first one to go the front was Helen. Joan listened

'God, I can't stand another tragedy in my family. I almost lost my husband last week. I almost lost my son. Don't do this to me again! Please. I'm trying to hold my family together, but it's getting too difficult for me to handle all this pain. Please God, don't take my Joan, don't take my little girl. Please... She still has so much to do and to see' Helen wiped the tears from her face, lighted a candle and went to sit besides Will. Joan was crying too, though no one could see her. 

Will stood next. _'God it's me Will Girardi, but then I guess you already know who I am. I know I don't pray as often as I should, and I only pray when I need something. Like last week when I asked you to save my life, or when I asked you to save my son. I never thanked you for saving my son. Thanks for not letting Kevin die. I'm going to ask you the same thing today. Please save my daughter. There are a lot of bad people in this world. I see it everyday at work, so why her? Why my baby? She did nothing wrong. Please' _Will stood up and took his seat next to Helen. They sat there finding comfort in each other arms.

Kevin went next. He moved to the front and started to pray too _'Wow, I haven't done this in a long time. I don't think I remember how to do this correctly. Anyway, please God save my sister... I think this is the part where I promise something. I promise to... to be good... No that sounds to cheesy. I don't know what to promise, but please save my sister anyway. When I had the accident our family drifted apart. If we lose Joan now, I'm afraid of what would happen to us.' _Joan put a hand on Kevin's shoulder as he wheeled himself back to where he was before__

Luke was the only one left. He got up and shyly made his way to the front. He started _'Hi God, it's me... Luke. I don't think I've done this before ever. I didn't do it for Kevin's accident, and I didn't had a chance to last week. Thanks for that, last week, for saving dad. It's only now that I think we're really starting to connect as father and son. Please don't let anything bad happen to Joan. Please! I know she's always calling me a geek, and she's weird and moody, but all girls are. Please God...' _Luke got up and took the seat next to Kevin's chair. Joan looked at her family crying. She had no idea what to do now.

"I wonder if this is what I was supposed to hear?" Asked Joan to herself as Adam walked through the door

"Adam? What are you doing here?" Asked Helen shocked to see the boy there

"I came to pray too Mrs. Girardi" Said Adam nervously

"Oh Adam, I didn't knew you prayed"

"I don't. I'm doing this for Jane Mrs. Girardi"

"Oh Adam, call me Helen"

"All right, Helen" There was awkward silence "Yeah... that sounded weird, I'll stick to Mrs. Girardi"

"Yeah, Thank you" Said Helen laughing and went back with Will to leave Adam alone

Adam, unsure of what to do, just stood there. Joan watching him, even if he couldn't see her. _'God. Funny I haven't thought of you in some time now, almost four years. My mom was the one that made us go to church, and after she... well you know, dad and I never went back. I know lately Jane and I haven't been getting along too well, but that's not a reason to take the most important person in my life again. I want to see her again, get a chance to touch her again, get a chance to kiss her for the first time... I... I think ... I think I love her. Please don't take her away form me' _Adam then went and sat next to Kevin and Luke. Joan just stood there

"He... He loves me? I thought he hated me..." Joan headed to where her brothers and Adam where sitting "Adam..." She lent in and hugged him, but she just passed right through him

"And what are you still doing here? Asked Luke "I thought you hated my sister?"

"I don't know. When I saw her get in the car with Ramsey my heart just stopped. And then when I saw her bleeding, I just... I realized I don't hate her. I never did. I was just mad. I tried to hate her, but I couldn't"

"It's ok Adam" Said Kevin "She's going to be ok, you'll see"

"But, I want a chance to tell her that, tell her how I feel"

"And you will tell her, Cheer up man" Said Kevin

"Everyone" Screamed Grace in the door "The doctor wants to talk to you"

"So I guess I'm going to be fine now. Whoa" Joan got dizzy and passed out, and then disappeared.

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 Muahahaha, evil cliffie. Is she fine? Is she dead? Tune in same fanfic, same hour to find out more :D

I'll try to have next chapter as soon as I can :)

Bye


	3. Faith

Sorry for the evil cliffie :). That's not really my style, I just couldn't resist.

The stuff in _italics _are thoughts

Now chapter 3

Don't pay much attention to the chapter titles, they're just the first words that come to mind :p

_Second Chances: Chapter 3.Faith_

__

The doctor was talking to the family "I'm sorry. We did everything we could, it was a very serious and complicated surgery. She died. I'm sorry"

"What!!"

"Not my baby, please no!!"

"This... this is a nightmare. This can't be real!!" The young man said as he fell in tears to the floor

"I'm really sorry" Said the doctor and left the family alone

"I hope the doctor doesn't tell us the same thing" Said Helen to Will as they watched the other family crying

"Yeah, poor family" Said Will as they waited for the doctor to talk to them

"Hi, I'm Dr. Carter the surgeon that was with Joan. Sorry for making you wait I was getting a cup of coffee."

"Its ok" Said Helen "How is she? How's Joan?"

"Joan is fine Mrs. Girardi" Said the doctor.

Helen was finally able to breathe "Oh Will. Our girl is fine. She's fine"

"She's not out of the woods yet, but everything looks fine." Said Dr. Carter

"Yeah" Will said holding Helen "When can we see her?"

"Well, she's going to have to spend the night on the ICU for observation and she can only have one visitor in there. Tomorrow we'll move her to her own room and then you all can come visit her."

"Oh, well then I'll stay tonight with her and I'll call you in the morning so you and the boys know when to come." Said Helen to Will

"All right Helen, do you need something? We can bring you something to eat before we go"

"No that's ok, I couldn't eat anyway"

"All right Mrs. Girardi, Joan is still under the effects of the anesthesia so she's asleep. Follow me and I'll take you with her"

"All right. Oh thank you so much Dr. Carter" Helen said hugging the doctor "Bye guys" She waved goodbye and followed the doctor

"Well Adam looks like you got the second chance you asked for" Kevin told him

"Yeah" Said Adam happy

"Okay. I still have to go back to the station to finish the papers on Ramsey's arrest"

"Mr. Girardi. I would like to go see Ramsey" Said Adam. Everyone stared at him "Joan told me to tell him something. And I'd like to talk to him"

"All right. I'll see what I can do" Said Will

"Then since I have the other car I'll take Luke, Kevin and Grace" Said Rebeca

"I can't wait to get out of this dress" Said Grace

"See you boys at the house later"

"All right bye dad" Said Kevin and Luke and they left

"Ok, let's go Adam" Said Will and they left too

**-Police station-**

The ride on Will's car was silent except for the radio, because they couldn't think of anything to talk about

"Wait here Adam. I'll go find where are they keeping him" Said Will leaving Adam in a room

"All Right"

Will went to the cell they were keeping Ramsey in

"Ramsey?"

"What do you want?" Ramsey said as Will went in

"Someone wants to talk to you"

"Well I'm sure it's not my stepdad or my dad. They're probably saying that they knew all along this is where I was going to end" Ramsey said as Will took him out of the cell with his handcuffs on

"Ramsey I really don't know what's going to happen to you. My daughter sees something in you. Must be something good to disobey all that her mother and I told her not to do. Are you telling me she's wrong?"

"Maybe. I don't know see what she sees. She probably hates my guts now too. I always screw up the good things. Is Joan ok?"

"Yeah, she's out of surgery. The doctor said she's going to be ok" Said Will looking at him "Hey, is that my tie?"

"Joan lent it to me. You can take it. I won't need it where I'm going"

"It's okay, I never liked it anyway" Will laughed and put Ramsey in the room Adam was in "I still have some papers to fill so you boys have time to talk"

"Rove, what are you doing here? Decided to get off your I'm-better-than you-cloud and visit the simple people?" Asked Ramsey mad

"I'm here because I have a message from Jane"

"Jane? Do you mean Joan? She probably told you to tell me that she hates me and to stay away from her. I really didn't mean to shot her. It was accident" He said calming down and sitting in one of the chairs

"When we were at the forest she told me to tell you to not lose your light. That this wasn't your fault."

"Light? What is that supposed to mean?" Asked Ramsey confused

"I don't know. I thought it was something between you two" said Adam "Sometimes what she says doesn't really make sense"

"You know, she's the only person that wasn't afraid of me and that took the time to talk to me since... a really long time. Since the last time we hung out together" Said Ramsey looking a little sad. He quickly masked it with anger

"Why did we stop being friends?"

"Come on Adam, you know. After your mom died you changed. You didn't want to hang out anymore. You stayed in your shed all day long doing your so-called art. Then when I was having a bad day you didn't even listened to me, so I said your art was stupid and you kicked me out of your shed and told me to never come back"

"Oh yeah. I remember when you said my art was stupid. My art was the only thing that could make me feel connected to my mother. You know I blame myself for what she did. Maybe it was my fault" Said Adam his eyes watering {In this episode he hasn't read his mother letter yet}

"Oh save the soap operas for other day Rove. You want to know bad? My dad left us to go with his new bimbo secretary to Miami. My mom couldn't handle it so she became and alcoholic. She remarried this jerk, who hates me, but she didn't care that he hit me or that he made me do all the work around the house. She lives for this man. She practically forgot about me! So when I most needed a friend he kicks me out. Now that is bad!! I hate the world!!" Said Ramsey grabbing the chair he was sitting on and slamming against the wall "People suck!! My mom suck!! You suck!!" A guard came in and took Ramsey back to his cell

"I'll come again Ramsey" Said Adam as they where taking him

"Don't bother!"

"Ready to go?" Said Will "I finished all the paperwork. What was all that about?"

"Just stuff. Yeah, let's go"

Will left Adam in his house and then headed for his house. Kevin and Luke where already sleeping so he took a shower and went to bed too.

**-Hospital-**

Helen had finally fallen asleep for five minutes. The nurses were frequently coming in to check on Joan and to take notes, that didn't let her sleep.

Another nurse came in and Helen woke up

"Sorry for not letting you sleep Mrs. Girardi, but is our job to annoy the hell out of the patients family" Said the nurse smiling

"It's ok." Said Helen yawning "Is she doing ok?"

"For the kind of surgery she had, she's doing ok." The nurse took some notes "I got to go there's another mother sleeping in the next bed" the nurse left

Helen noticed Joan moving "It's ok honey I'm here" She said holding Joan's hand.

Joan opened her eyes and looked around the room. She tried to talk, but the tube in her throat didn't let her. She was connected to a ventilator to help her breathe

"Joan it's me is mom" Joan nodded, since she couldn't talk "You're in the hospital" Joan nodded again "I'm going to go get the nurse" Helen said and left

"_Well at least I'm alive_" Joan thought "_Oh, everything hurts_"

"Joan?" Came the voice of the nurse. Joan nodded "Hi, welcome back. I'm nurse Lockhart, I prefer you call me Abby. I know you must be feeling extremely uncomfortable, but we have to keep you here until the doctor checks you, I know it sucks. I'm going to go find Dr. Carter, I'll be right back. And don't worry, he's a hottie" Joan smiled and nodded again. The nurse smiled, took some notes, and left.

"See, everything is going to be all right Joan" Said Helen smiling

"Hi Joan" Said Dr. Carter coming in with Abby behind him "I'm the doctor who's been taking care of you. I know you must be anxious to talk, but we still need to do some tests before I can take the tube out." He got his stethoscope out and placed it on Joan's chest "Take a deep breath Joan. All right. I'll be back to check on a while" Dr. Carter smiled told the nurse the tests he needed and left

"Didn't I told you he was a hottie" Said Abby winking, she took some blood and left the room too

-Later-

Joan was now officially bored. Helen had fallen asleep again, now that the nurses didn't come to check so often on Joan she could sleep more. Joan didn't want to sleep again. She had slept enough last night. The only entertainment she had was trying to guess how many of the stains in the ceiling were blood.

"_Well, I really hope none, how would blood get on the ceiling anyway?_"

"Hi Joan" Said Dr. Carter coming in again "I have the test results and everything is fine. We can take you off the ventilator now" Joan smiled

"_Finally_" She thought

Helen woke up

"Hi Mrs. Girardi. I was just telling Joan we're finally going to take her off the ventilator"

"Oh well that's good news"

"Yeah. Okay Joan I'm going to count to three. What I want you to do is take a deep breath and then blow as hard as you can. Then I want you to cough. Ready?" Joan nodded "Ok one, two, three!" The doctor pulled the tube out and Joan coughed "Ok, very good Joan"

"Man that hurts" Said Joan in a raspy voice

"I know. Now let's talk about your surgery Joan. It was very serious so it's ok if you take things easy for a while. You can sit up in the bed, with the help of somebody if you need it, but don't try to run any marathons yet. If you need anything or feel dizzy or nauseous I need you to tell the nurse fast and she'll come get me, but I'll be checking on you anyway. Any questions?"

"Can she eat?" Asked Helen

"Yeah, you can start with something soft like a soup. The nurse knows what's on today's menu that is adequate for Joan to eat so you can ask her. Anything else?"

"It hurts a lot" Said Joan

"Ok I'll tell the nurse to give you some morphine for the pain. You're still going to feel sore for a while. Any more questions?"

"Are you single?"

"Joan!!" Said Helen

"What, I was just kidding"

"It's good to see you're feeling better" He said smiling "Okay Joan I'm going to start filling the papers to move you to your own room. I'll see you in a while"

"Ok, bye Doctor. It's good to speak again" Joan said smiling

"I'm just thankful you didn't die Joan. I was so scared. I told you not to get in the car with that boy. Why didn't you listen? You went and did it anyway and... and..." Helen broke in tears and hugged Joan "You could have died"

"Ow, mom, ow" Said Joan in pain

"Oh sorry honey"

Dr. Carter popped his head in the room "Joan, they'll be coming to move you to a room in a while"

"Ok thanks"

"I'm going to go call your dad and tell him the news" Said Helen and left

**-Giradi House-**

The phone ringing woke Will up

"Hello?" He said still sleepy

"Oh, did I wake you?" Asked Helen on the other side

"Yeah, but it's ok. Is something wrong? Is Joan ok?"

"Yeah Will, she's fine. She woke up and they're moving her to a room"

"Oh then I'll go wake the boys and we'll be there as soon as we can"

"Ok, got to go the doctor is here to move her. Bye"

"Bye" Said Will hanging up. He got out of bed and went to Kevin's room "Kevin?" The room was empty. Then he went to Luke's room "Luke?" He wasn't there either

"Dad we're in the kitchen!" He heard Luke. Will headed for the kitchen and found them eating

"Morning dad" Said Kevin "We're making breakfast, what do you want Trix, or a toaster strudel?"

"Ah good healthy breakfast, I'll have a toaster strudel"

"Coming up" Said Luke opening the package and putting them on the toaster "Who called? Was it mom?"

"Yeah, she said Joan is awake and they're going to move her to her own room. Then we can go visit"

"That's great" Said Luke

"Yeah, let's finish breakfast and then we'll go get ready" Said Kevin

"Oh, we have to call Grace and Adam" Said Luke

"I think it's to early to wake them up. Why don't we go first and then we'll call them" Said Will

"Yeah, okay dad"

They finished eating and then headed for the hospital

**-Hospital-**

Joan was now in another hospital room. It had two beds, but the other one was empty. It also had a little TV

"Do you think Adam is coming?" Joan asked Helen smiling

"Probably. He was here all night yesterday"

"I can't wait to see him. I need to tell him something"

"Well don't worry too much. I'm sure he's coming now or later"

Joan's smiled faded when an idea hit her "Oh, but how am I going to tell him I know, if he doesn't know I know. And if I tell him how I know he's going to think I'm crazy"

"What? Honey, you're babbling"

"I'm babbling?"

"Are you delirious? Should I call the nurse?"

"No, mom. I'm okay"

Will, Luke and Kevin arrived

"Hi we're here" Will said giving some flowers to Joan

"Hi Daddy, Luke, Kevin. I'm so happy you're all here. I thought I was never going to see you guys again" Joan said crying. She tried to get up to hug them, but she was still weak "Ok so you're going to have to hug me"

They moved in to hug her

"But not to hard 'cause it hurts" She said stopping them

"Ok" They all hugged her

"But not so soft either." She wined

"Ok, Joan is definitely back" Said Kevin and everyone laughed

"Hey? Where are Adam and Grace?"

"Oh well it was early and I didn't to wake them up" said Will

"But are they coming later?"

"Yeah we'll call them" said Will and his beeper started to beep "It's work. I have to call. Where's the phone?" Asked Will

"It's down the hall. I'll show you" Said Helen

"I'm going to get a soda. You want one?" Offered Kevin

"Not supposed to eat anything sugary yet" Said Joan

"Ok, and you Luke?"

"Sure" 

"All right. I'll be right back" Said Kevin

A nurse came in "Hi Joan"

"Hi"

"And hi to you too" She said to Luke

"Hi" He said

"You should talk to Luke" The nurse said taking Joan's pressure

"God" Joan sighed and looked at the nurse "You know. I want to thank you for... not dying... you know"

"You're welcome Joan. You know people are always asking me to do things for them and favors, but almost everyone forgets to say thank you" Nurse/God said smiling she wrote something on Joan's chart "Talk to Luke" She left the room

Luke and Joan were alone in the room again

"Hey Luke, can you help me sit up, I can't do it alone yet" Joan said trying to make conversation

"Sure" Luke helped Joan "Anything else? Another pillow?"

"No, I'm fine"

"Water? Some ice chips?"

"Well some ice chips sound nice."

Luke brought her some ice chips "What's wrong with you Luke?"

"This is my fault. This is all my fault I should have been there. You almost died because of me"

"And... how is this your fault?"

"I was supposed to protect you. That's what brothers do." Joan looked at him confused "When we were in AP Chem and you told us you were going to the dance with Ramsey, Friedman told you not to worry that I would defend you"

"Oh come on Luke this wasn't your fault"

"Yes, yes it was. I'm your brother and brothers protect each other"

"Luke you're my brother and I love you, but there was nothing you could have done. This was my fault." Joan said holding his hand "And you know how stubborn I am. So even if you told me not to go that wouldn't have stopped me."

Luke sighed and ran his hand through his hair "Yeah, you are pretty stubborn"

Kevin came back with two sodas and a cup full of ice chips "I asked a nurse what to bring you and she gave me these" He said handing the ice chips to Joan

"Thanks" She said smiling and showing him the cup of ice chips Luke had brought her too

"Oops. And this is for you Luke" He handed Luke the other soda

"Thanks Kevin" Luke said

Will and Helen came back arguing

"Well can't they understand that your daughter is important too?" Said Helen

"Sorry honey, I have to go. This is really important" Will said a little sad

"It's ok daddy. You'll come back later right?"

"I'll try" Will kissed the top of her head and left

"Well I have to go to work too actually" Said Kevin "See you later Joan" He gave Joan a hug and left

"This soda is warm" Luke said grabbing Joan's ice chips

"Hey, those are my ice chips"

"Brothers also share" He said with an innocent smile

**-Later -**

Adam and Grace were in the room too. Adam's father gave them a ride to the hospital on his way to work

"Hi guys" Said Joan hugging them "Oh I seriously thought I wasn't going to see you two again"

"Well that would have been your fault Girardi. Only you would have had the brilliant idea to go to the party with Steve Ramsey and then getting on a car with him" Said Grace mad "You should know better than that"

"Hey, I know this is my fault. There's no need to keep reminding me" Joan said annoyed

"Hi Jane" Said Adam "I made something for you" He handed her a sculpture of a little angel "I called it 'the angel made of stuff'" he said smiling

Joan looked at it and smiled too "Thanks" She put it in the counter next to her bed

"I think we better leave them alone" Said Helen and she, Grace, and Luke left the room.

"I'm sorry Adam, for what I did to your sculpture" Said Joan not looking at him

"It's okay, there are more important things Jane. You've apologized a hundred times already"

"Sorry" She said again

"I was really scared yesterday Jane" Said Adam sitting with her in the bed

"I was scared too Adam"

"When I saw you get in the car with Ramsey. And then when I saw you in the floor in the woods it felt like my heart stopped"

"Don't take this the wrong way, but what were you doing in the forest with my dad?"

"That's where Ramsey and me used to hang out when we were little. I thought that's where he was probably going and I showed your dad the way"

"Well thank you. I don't know what would have happened if you hadn't showed up"

"You know I was so scared last night, I prayed. I haven't prayed since my mom died"

"That's really sweet. Thank you Adam"

They stayed silent for a while. An awkward silence like they both wanted to say something, but didn't know what. Adam started:

"Jane yesterday. It made really realize something. That I don't... I don't hate you. I was just mad at you. I could never hate you." Adam looked at Joan in the eyes "In fact I think I uh... Well, I think I… I uh"

"It's okay Adam" Joan said looking in his eyes and giving him a reassuring smile "I think I 'uh' you too"

They slowly started to lean closer until they were kissing

"Wow" Said Adam as they separated

"Yeah, wow" Said Joan. Then Luke, Grace and Helen came back in

"Hope that was enough time alone for you too. Dr. Carter is here to check on you again honey" Said Helen

"My shift is ending and I like to check on all my patients before I go" He said getting his stethoscope out again "Take a deep breath Joan. Again. Good. So Joan have you been feeling dizzy? Nauseous?"

"Only when I looked at the food." She said joking

"Yeah it can have that effect sometimes. Any pain?"

"I still feel a little sore"

"Yeah, that's normal after surgery." He grabbed the thermometer "Hmm 99.6, your temperature is a little high. I'll order some Tylenol. I'll be back to check in the morning. See you Joan"

"Bye Dr. Carter"

"And remember you shouldn't be getting out of bed yet." He waved goodbye and left

"Looks like you're doing ok" Said Adam

"Yeah, I can't wait to get out of the hospital"

"You've only been here two days, half of it unconscious" Said Helen

"I... I don't like hospitals" Joan said

Luke was sitting in the empty bed with Grace "You know the science fair is next month"

"Yeah" Grace said looking at the little TV in the room

"Well, I was just thinking maybe we should get together and discuss some ideas"

"Well, why don't you have the ideas and I'll tell you if they're fine or not"

"Yeah, ok. But I have all my papers at home. Maybe you could come by some day and we could review them together"

Grace was going to say something, but another nurse came in "Visiting hours are over" Joan recognized the nurse as the God nurse

"Ok, I'll walk you guys downstairs and while you wait for your Adam's dad" Said Helen

"I'll go too" Said Luke following them

The nurse came in "I brought your medicines." She handed Joan some pills "Dark times are coming Joan. You may not see me, but remember I'll always be with you. You have to trust me, even in a silence"

"Why are you going somewhere?"

"I'm God I'm everywhere"

"What? Dark times? Silence? Is it the apocalypse? 'Cause Adam and I just hooked up-" God interrupted her

"No Joan. Here lie down and get some sleep. You'll need it" Nurse god helped Joan lie down and left "Remember I'm always here even in the silence"

**-Hospital 1st floor Emergency room (ER)-**

Dr. Ross was organizing all the paperwork from yesterday "This is the part I hate of my job, filling forms, paperwork, sign here, sign there"

"Ah, so you hate the easy part" Said Carol that was in the room with him

"This is weird" He said looking at some labs

"What?"

"There's something weird in this labs, they're from yesterday's GSW. I'll call upstairs to check" Said Dr. Ross and went to look for a phone

------------------------------------------------------------

Ok, ok. I said no more cliffies and I did it again...

I'll try to have the next chapter as soon as I can, but I'm leaving tomorrow and I wont be home until Monday, so don't expect updates this weekend. Sorry.

Now I know the 'I uh you too' is from some movie. But I can't remember which. I googled it, but got nothing...

Bye


	4. Roads

I'm so really sorry for the long update, it's just everything I write I didn't like. So now I finally got inspired and wrote this one :) Hope you all like it too.****

**Nee** –Yeah, I know I miss some words when I write, I always have my brother look at my stories before I post them, but since he doesn't like JoA he doesn't want to read this one. Now I think I'm doing fairly well considering all the English I know I learned in school and in TV :) And I'm using Word. That fixes almost all my mistakes

And everyone else who reviewed thanks, If I thank you one by one I'll never get to the story :p

Now enjoy chapter 4

_Second Chances: Chapter 4.Roads_

This is from Joan's POV 

I heard laughing. Everyone was laughing. I opened my eyes and saw my family sitting in the picnic table in the backyard of our old house. Mom is laughing and passing the potatoes around. She looks really pretty when she smiles like that. Dad smiles and kisses her. The phone rings and Kevin gets up to get it, says it's probably Beth calling to confirm their plans. Luke smiles looking at a bug that poses at the table. He goes up to his room to find his, magnifying glass. The one he just got today for his 10th birthday. I smile looking at everyone so happy. We're celebrating Luke's birthday. I remember we ended up just ourselves celebrating like this. Dad hadn't called to confirm the Chuck E. Chesses reservation. The mail returned all the invitations because Kevin's handwriting was illegible. And the bakery had made the wrong cake congratulating Luke for his new baby boy. Mom almost had a heart attack when she saw the cake. My only job had been to wrap up the presents. And I did, I just didn't remembered where I had put them after I wrapped them... So we ended up on the backyard eating day old chicken with instant mix mashed potatoes. Dad found the gifts hidden behind the toilet and mom scraped all the frosting off the cake. Luke said it was his best birthday ever. And even though it wasn't my own birthday and I never told anyone, this was the best day of my life.

"Time of death twelve forty five" I hear a female voice say

Everything goes black again, but this time it stays that way…

Earlier 

The receptionist at the front desk was flirting with a guy when the phone rang

"Just one sec hon" She said to the guy and picked up the phone "University hospital surgical floor, how can I help you? Oh hi Dr. Ross. Yeah we have that patient here. Ok, how do you spell that? G-I-R-A-R-D-I. Yeah ok I'll give the Dr. that message. Bye Dr. Ross" She wrote something on a Post-it and left it at the desk. She then continued to talk to the guy not paying attention to the little paper when it fell to the floor.

**Joan's room**

"Come on!!" Kevin yells at the TV "That's clearly a foul! That referee is blind!"

"Come on it was _so_ not a foul" Luke tells him which makes Kevin give him an evil glare

"Hey, hey there are people trying to sleep here" Joan says a little groggy

"Welcome back sleeping beauty" Kevin said "You've been sleeping all day"

"What time is it?" Joan asked

"It's five twenty five" Luke says looking at his watch

"Oh come on, I've never slept that much. Except that time, but it was summer" Joan said looking around the room "Where's mom?"

"She went home to take a bath. She's coming back later with dad" Kevin said looking back at the game in the TV

"You feeling ok?" Luke asked Joan

"Yeah" She said yawning "Though I do feel a little dizzy, must be from sleeping that much"

"Probably" Luke said smiling

"Hey Luke. Can you bring me something to eat? Preferably something sweet like some M&M's. That would be great" Joan said.

Abby came in "Hi Joan, I see you're finally awake" She said taking the chart and writing something

"I'll see what I can sneak in later" Luke said winking

"Thank you" Joan said. Luke went back to seeing the game with Kevin

"So how are you feeling?" Abby asked her

"I'm hungry" Joan said

"I'll bring you a tray of food later. So are you ready for a walk?"

"Really?"

"Yeah, You have to start walking now. It's part of your recovery" Abby said smiling. Joan nodded and she helped Joan get out of the bed

"Look at me I'm up!" Joan said excited "And I'm going" She started to walk outside the room with Abby's help "See you boys" She said waving to Luke and Kevin

"Bye Joan" They both said looking at the TV and not at her

"Men" Abby said rolling her eyes. Joan laughed

"Where are we going?" Joan asked

"Just here. I'm going to give you a full tour of the fifth floor" Abby said "Not exactly a marathon I know, but it's the best I can do"

"That's okay, beats being in bed" Joan said smiling "Where's Dr. Carter?"

"He's with another patient now, he'll be by your room later."

"Okay" Joan said "I'm feeling a little dizzy" She said looking down

"Ok sit here" Abby helped Joan sit in a chair by the front desk "Better?"

"A little yeah. I think I can continue now"

"I don't think so."

"Oh come on. I can walk. I don't want to go back to bed" Joan whined

"I know" Abby said smiling and left. She came back a few minutes later with a wheelchair "Hop in"

Joan groaned "Do you want to go back to your room now? 'Cause is this or that" Abby said

"Okay, okay. You win" She said frustrated and sat in the wheelchair "Don't you have other patients?"

"I can take a break"

"Then okay. You know the hospital better than me, take me somewhere interesting"

"Okay, I know just the place. Let me just go get something" Abby returned a few minutes later with two coats. She pushed Joan to the elevator.

"So... we're going somewhere cold?"

"It's the middle of December, everything's cold"

"You got a point there"

"Here we are"

The elevators doors opened and they were in the roof. It was night already.

"You can see the whole city from up here" Abby said looking down "Even if you're alone up here, you're never alone. The whole city is with you"

"Yeah, it's beautiful" Joan said looking down too.

"It's been a while since the last time I came with someone up here" Abby said "Me and Carter used to come together all the time"

"What happened?"

"I... I don't know" Abby said her eyes watering a little. "We used to talk a lot. About everything. I thought we were getting really well, but now he only talks to me about work. I really don't know what changed." They stood there a while until Abby's pager beeped "Well. Got to go" Abby said pushing Joan back to the elevator. "Hope I didn't bore you"

"Are you kidding? That was beautiful. And don't worry Abby, he's going to realize sooner or later that he misses you" Joan told her trying to cheer her up

Abby took Joan back to her room. Will and Helen were waiting for her.

"Oh my God. What happened? I thought you were going for a walk." Helen asked seeing Joan in the wheelchair

"Nothing Mrs. Girardi. She just got dizzy while we were walking so we continued on wheels. I have to go now. See you Joan"

"Bye Abby" She said waving goodbye

"Hey baby" Will said hugging Joan "How are you feeling?"

"Hungry" Joan said smiling

"They brought your food Joan, but since Kevin and Luke were alone in the room, it mysteriously disappeared" Helen said glaring at them

"What? We're growing boys. We need the food too" Kevin said

"I'll bring you something" Will said "You want anything special Joan?"

"A turkey sandwich would be good" She said

"Okay" Will said leaving

"Hey Kevin want to race?" Joan asked still sitting in the wheelchair

"You're on" He said

"Al right" Joan and Kevin started to race from one side to the room to the other

A while later Will came back with the sandwich and Joan ate. They were all in the room. Joan was sitting back on the bed and Luke and Kevin were the ones racing now. Will and Helen we're being... well parents

"I talked to doctor Carter earlier honey" Helen said "He says if everything keeps improving you may be able to leave the hospital in two or three days"

"That's great mom. I miss my comfy bed" Joan pouted

"Yeah, well you focus on getting better now" Will said

Joan stopped smiling for a moment and looked at Will "Dad, how's Ramsey?"

Everyone in the room, even Luke and Kevin froze

"Why do you ask?" Will asked

"I want to know what's going to happen to him" Joan said still serious

"Well we're going to make him go to psychiatric treatment. If it goes well then he's going to go a clinic."

"That's better than jail I guess"

"Yeah it is" Will said

"Aw, my chest kind of hurts" Joan said holding her chest

"Are you ok?" Helen asked touching her "Oh my God! She's burning up"

"Luke go call the doctor" Will said and Luke ran out of the room

"Is your chest all that hurts? Does something else hurts Joan?" Helen asked holding her hand

"I can't… I can't breathe mom" Joan said panicking

"Here she is" Luke said coming in with the do behind him

"What happened?" He asked with his stethoscope out

"It... hurts" Joan said the fear obvious in her voice

"What hurts?" He asked. Joan tried to speak, but couldn't so she pointed to her chest.

"She can't breathe" Helen said

"What's wrong?" Asked Abby coming in "I was just with her she was fine"

"Chest pains. Difficulty breathing." Carter said

"She said she was dizzy earlier. I thought it was from the walking." Abby said

"Could be a clot. We should do a scan. Abby get me a monitored bed and call radiology let them know we got a critical coming"

"All right" Abby ran out of the room

"Joan listen to me, we're going to do a scan that will tell us if there is a clot in your lungs that is difficulting your breathing. Do you understand?" He explained

Joan nodded.

Abby came back with the bed "They're expecting us Carter"

"Well then let's go. Joan do you think you can move to this bed?" Joan nodded and moved to the other bed. Then Carter and Abby took Joan to radiology.

Radiology 

"Okay Joan. You have to relax" Carter said looking through the mirror at the other side of the room where Joan was.

"Okay shooting scan... now" The radiologist said. Soon the images started to show in the computer

"That doesn't look like a clot" Said Abby "Oh my god! Is that…?" Abby asked looking at the image shocked

"But it can't be" Carter said looking at the scan too "There's a fraction of the bullet in her lung"

"Her pressure's dropping Dr. Carter" The radiologist said

Carter and Abby quickly moved to the other room to help her "Pulse ox is 87. We have to tube her, she can't breathe. 7.0 ET tube" Abby handed him the tube "Sorry Joan" He said looking at her "There"

"Her pressure's coming up. Pulse ox is up, but still low" Abby said looking at the monitor

"We have to get her to surgery NOW. Abby you tell the parents, I'll go prep her" Carter said

"Okay Carter" Abby ran out of the room to find Helen and Will

She found them still in Joan's room "Helen" She said almost out of breath "Will. There's a problem with Joan. We don't know how but there's still a fraction of the bullet in her lungs. I need you to sign this consent so we can operate now"

Will and Helen stood there shocked. Will automatically took the papers and signed them. The expression in his face not changing.

"What?" Helen said breaking the silence

"There's still a fraction of the bullet in Joan's lung. We don't know how it got there, but we need to operate right now to get it out." Abby explained more calmed now

Helen broke down in sobs in Will's arms "Why again? Can I see her before?" She asked

"Sure if we hurry" Abby said "Follow me"

Abby took them to the room. They had to wear masks to go in to see her. Abby told them she was already sleeping because of the anesthesia, and she was hooked to the monitors.

"Oh Joan" Kevin said looking at her. He couldn't bear to look at Joan like that so he turned around and left

Helen tried to stop him, but Will stopped her "Let him go" Helen nodded and caressed Joan's face. It was so cold and pale. This definitely wasn't the Joan she knew. They stood there until the nurse told them they to take Joan to the operating room.

Operating room 

Carter was waiting inside with Benton watching, he isn't going to operate this time.

"Okay ready to do this?" Benton asked "Scalpel"

"Shouldn't we wait for Elizabeth?" Carter asked holding the scalpel

"Dr. Corday called and said she got help up in a appendectomy, she'll be joining us later" One of the nurses said

"Ok thanks" Benton said taking the scalpel

Halfway through the operation Dr. Elizabeth Corday arrived

"Glad you could finally join us Elizabeth" Benton said

"Sorry I'm late" She said in a British accent taking the place besides Benton

"You missed the best part. We just removed the bullet. How are the vitals?" Benton said

"Pressures going up. So is the Pulse ox" The nurse said

"Seems she's doing fine now" Corday said "If you don't need me then I'll go"

All of a sudden the alarms were beeping again "Pressure's going down"

"What?" he said surprised

"She must be bleeding somewhere. Bullet must have been holding a hemorrhage. We have to stop it now. Carter you suction" Corday said

"I think I see it, let's try and clamp it" Benton said

The monitor beeped again "She's in V-Fib" The nurse said

"Charge the paddles to 200." Benton said

"Should we shock her? We have to stop the bleeding first" Carter asked

"If we lose her then the bleeding won't matter. Clear" He said and shock her

"No change" The nurse said

"Push two amps of EPI. Charge again to 250. And clear" He shocked her again

"Pressure's still going down, no change" The nurse said

"She's bleeding out. We have to stop it!" Corday said practically screaming "Push four of atropine and hand me a clamp"

"Atropine's in" The nurse said

"Let's give the medicine time to work" Corday said

"Now she's in V-tach" Benton said

"Well then help me!" She said "We have to work fast."

"Let's try to shock her again Elizabeth" Benton said

"I can do this" She said

"Elizabeth get out of the way" Benton said pushing her aside. "Charge paddles to 250. Clear." They all looked at the monitor

"Normal sinus" The nurse said

"Well looks like that worked" Benton said looking over at Corday

"You didn't have to push me. Hand me a sterile clamp" The nurse did so "There wasn't this much blood before" She said looking curiously at the bleeding "It's not coming from here. I must have nicked an artery when you pushed me."

"What? That's imposible!" Benton said shocked "Oh my God, what have I done. Hand me a clamp"

"Pressure's going down" The nurse said when an alarm beeped

"Not again. She's losing blood faster than we can give her. Push four more of atropine. And hang two more units of blood on the rapid infuser" Corday and Benton were working quickly and shouting orders at everyone

"I tied the minor bleeding" Benton said

"I'm working as fast as I can" Corday said

"She's getting shocky" The nurse said "She's in V-fib."

"Push two of atropine. I'm almost done" Corday ordered

"She's maxed out on atropine" The nurse said

"Well then try dopamine. I don't care" Corday shouted

The nurse looked at Dr. Benton for approval and he nodded "Dopamine's in"

"Okay I'm done" Corday said

"She's still in V-fib"

"Let's shock her, charge paddles to 200" Benton said "Clear"

"No change"

"Put another unit of blood in the infuser, she has to recover some volume." Corday said

"No change"

"Push two more of EPI and charge again to 250." Benton said "Clear!"

"Assystole" The monitor flat lined

The three doctors stared shocked at Joan.

"Let's give the drugs a chance to work" Carter said "Shock her again"

"Charge to 300. Clear"

"Still assystole"

"I don't know what to do. She's been coding on and off for the last half hour" Corday said sadly

"She's young" Carter said

"With some fatal injuries Carter" Benton said trying to console him "Elizabeth call it"

"Time of death twelve forty five" Corday said looking at the clock in the wall. It's always sad to lose a patient, especially one this young. She still had so much to live for. The family would probably be devastated

"Wait a second, she's back in V-fib" The nurse said shocked

"She's what?"

"Now she's in V-tach"

"We can shock that, charge to 200."

"Wait!" The nurse shouted "Normal sinus"

They stared shocked at the monitor. Her heart was beating again, a steady beat.

"She's back" Carter said clearly surprised

"I've never seen this happen before" Corday said not believing what her eyes were seeing

"Well I guess we should finish and close up" Benton said talking, but not moving at all looking at the monitor

"Yeah" Corday said "Let's do that"

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:D I can tell you it won't take as long to update as this one 'cause I'm going to start writing it right now :) But I won't make any promises. School started again and I'm buried in homework already.


	5. Ask me again tomorrow

So sorry for the long update. I've just been so tired with all the schoolwork I have, this is my senior year so they're really giving me a lot of work. All the free time I have I use to sleep and eat. And there was that storm Jeanne that left me without electricity for a week. But now I've managed to sneak a few minutes to write this chapter. Hope you all like it :)

_Second Chances: Chapter 5. Ask me again tomorrow_

The surgeons were talking after finishing Joan's operation

"I swear, I've never seen that happen before" Corday said taking her gloves off

"It was a miracle" Carter said

"Come on Carter. It was probably the medicine, it took a while longer to work" Benton said taking his gloves off and throwing them on the bin

"Who's going to talk to the family?" Corday asked deliberately changing the subject. She didn't want to be in the middle of another debate between Carter and Benton about religion vs. medicine

"I will" Carter said looking at Benton and leaving

--

Will, Helen. Luke and Kevin were in the same waiting area they were just a few days ago.

"What is taking so long?" Kevin asked for the tenth time

"You know you don't have to worry if it takes too long. You have to worry if takes to little" Luke told him

"Here comes the doctor" Helen said standing up and holding on to Will

"Mr. and Mrs. Girardi the operation was a success. Joan is going to be fine." Carter started

"Oh thank God" Helen said

"Her hearth stopped during the surgery, and we thought we lost her for a while, but we were able to bring her back. She still has a long road ahead of her, but we are confident she'll pull through." Dr. Carter finished

"Can we see her?" Luke asked

"Not right now, we're taking some post operation tests, but you'll be able to see her maybe in half an hour."

"Yeah. You do all the tests that are necessary this time. Make sure that Joan is really fine" Helen said half joking half serious.

Carter smiled and nodded. "Don't worry"

"Ok, thank you Doctor." Will said shaking his hand. Then Carter turned around and left

"I'll go call Adam. I promised him I'd call him with news" Luke said

"It's one in the morning Luke" Helen said looking at her watch "We'll call him in the morning"

**::Morning::**

Joan was sleeping back in the hospital room. The other Girardis were scattered all over the room wherever they could find a place to sleep.

"Morning" The nurse said when she entered, but Joan was the only one that moved. She woke up "Hi Joan. Do you remember what happened?"

"I don't know" She said confused "I remember... I couldn't breathe and my chest hurt a lot"

"Yes, they had to do an emergency operation because a fragment of the bullet was still in your lung. You're still alive so the operation was clearly successful" The nurse said smiling. Joan assumed she meant that as a joke, but she didn't really find it funny.

"How long have I been sleeping?"

"Just a couple hours" The nurse said looking at the chart "Are you hungry?"

"Yeah, a little" Joan said

"Well, you're on a special diet until tomorrow, so I'll see what I can get for you" And with that the nurse left

Her whole family was still sleeping so Joan didn't make any noise. A few minutes later Helen woke up

"Mom?" Joan asked making sure her mother was awake

"Joan? You're awake" Helen said jumping off the couch to hug her daughter, until she noticed Joan was crying "Sorry, Did I hurt you? I'm just so happy"

"I'm sorry mom. I'm so sorry" Joan said pulling Helen back to a hug "I'm sorry for making you all suffer so much. I should have known better mom. I love you all so much. I'm sorry" Joan said between sobs. Helen hugged her back and the two of them laid like that until the nurse came back with Joan's breakfast.

The next days were all the same. Adam would come in the morning with Grace, who would mysteriously disappear at the same time Luke did, and then Adam would spent all day with her until she had to go to her physical therapies.

One day Abby came into the room really happy

"Wow, did you win the lottery?" Joan asked

"Something like that" Abby said showing Joan the ring in her finger "I won the best-man-in-the-whole-world lottery. Carter proposed last night" She said almost squealing

"Congratulations!!" Joan said looking at the ring "That is a big rock"

"I still can't believe it. I keep expecting to wake up being fifty something in my apartment alone with just my fifteen cats" Abby said smiling and they laughed for a while. "I talked to him after we went to the roof. He said he thought I was the one that wasn't interested. Good thing I talked to you" Abby said smiling

Joan stayed in the hospital for another three weeks until she was allowed to go home. Helen thought it was too soon for Joan to go home, but Joan thought otherwise. She still had to keep coming every week for her therapies but she was well enough to go home.

**Girardi's home**

"God I'm so happy to be back" Joan said stepping into the living room and spinning around, like a little girl in Disneyland for the first time. "I've really missed this place."

"Well, we're glad to have you back" Will said

"I really haven't had any time to clean the house lately, so Joan you're room is still a mess" Helen said smiling

"I just got here and I already have chores? It's definitely good to be back" Joan said. Then there was a knock at the door and Luke opened it. It was Grace and Adam

"Hey Joan. Good to see you standing again" Grace said

"Hi Jane" Was all Adam said. He felt kind of shy with the whole family there

"Hey guys. Came to rescue me?" Joan said as they came in and Luke closed the door "They're already giving me chores"

"Actually Grace is here for me" Luke said "We're going to work on our science project"

"Don't remind me. Now let's get this over with" Grace said and followed Luke to his room

"Is it safe to leave those two alone?" Will asked

"Come on dad, its Grace" Joan said "I think we should be more worried about Luke"

"Ok well. I have to get back to work. I'll see you all later" He said putting on his coat and kissing Joan on the forehead "It's good to have you back sweetie."

"See you later daddy" Joan said as Will went out the door

"Adam are you staying for dinner?" Helen asked

"If you want me to" He said

"Of course we want you too. Joan what do you want for dinner?" She didn't wait for Joan to answer and kept talking "I know I'm going to make all your favorite foods tonight. Chicken with some mashed potatoes and maybe some pasta-" Helen kept mentioning all kinds of foods while she was going to the kitchen

"I'm going to go too. Someone has to go make sure mom doesn't make a meal for twenty people." Kevin said following their mother to the kitchen

"What do you want to do?" Joan asked Adam now that they were alone

"You know? We haven't had an official date yet outside of the hospital. Let's go take a walk in the park" Adam said

"Unchallenged" Joan said smiling at him "Mom! I'm going out with Adam. We're going to the park!!" Joan shouted as she was getting her stuff

"But-" Helen started and Joan interrupted

"Don't worry. We'll be back for dinner" She shouted back "Let's go" She said smiling and they left

**Park**

Adam and Joan were walking in the park holding hands and talking

"So how does it feel to finally be outside the hospital?"

"It's so great. I thought I was never going to come out. But I'm going to miss some of the nurses and the doctors" Joan said getting even closer to Adam

"We have to celebrate. What do you want?" Adam asked

"You know what I want? I want ice cream, but not that tasteless goo they call ice cream at the hospital. Real ice cream, chocolate"

"Okay. Wait here I'll go buy you some"

"Really?"

"Yeah. Wait here a moment"

"Ok" Adam left. Joan sat in a bench to wait for him. She was looking at the people in the park. Little boys playing, old people walking and then she saw him, the cute guy in the brown jacket. He came and sat at her side "Long time no see" Joan said

He smiled "I know, but I told you I'm always with you, even if it seems I'm not there"

"I know, you're God, you're everywhere" Joan said smiling and then got serious "Did I do whatever it was I was supposed to do? Did I help Ramsey?"

"Trust me Joan, you did a good job. You helped Ramsey in ways that you may not be able to understand yet. You kept him from doing something terrible that there was no coming back from. And in a way you even saved some other people."

"What do you mean?" Joan asked

"Abby and Carter. They'll get married they'll have kids. Now those kids are going to do some great things. They just needed a little push to get together. It's like a chain; everything is connected. Now I have to go"

"What? No new assignment?"

"Consider this a vacation. Take time to heal. And remember you don't need me to always tell you to do the right thing. You can do some great things on your own" And with that he stood up and kept walking waving at her until he was out of view. Then a breeze blew through the park and Joan got it. That was his way of saying goodbye. He wasn't going to come back, even though he'd always be there for her.

"Here" Adam brought her back to reality handing her an ice cream cone "It's not chocolate. I really have no idea what it is, but it has to be better than the hospital" Adam said smiling and sitting with her. Joan smiled too and took it.

"I'm sure it's good" She said eating and giving him some too. And eating their ice cream, sitting in a park bench in silence they felt more connected to each other than ever before. They spent all day there sitting together holding each other's hands and looking at each other until it was time to go back for dinner.

_**the END**_

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Sniff, sniff. It's over. Someone hand me a tissue!

Thanks to everyone who reviewed and got me to keep writing this story. You all rock!!!

Crazy little witch


	6. ask me again, again

Ok, ok if I'd known you all weren't going to like that ending, I wouldn't have done it that way :) So for you all I'm going to do a second ending. Hope you like this one...

Second Chances: Chapter 5b. Ask me again the day after tomorrow 

"You know what I want? I want ice cream, but not that tasteless goo they call ice cream at the hospital. Real ice cream, chocolate"

"Okay. Wait here I'll go buy you some"

"Really?"

"Yeah. Wait here a moment"

"Ok" Adam left. Joan sat in a bench to wait for him. She was looking at the people in the park. Little boys playing, old people walking fathers playing with their kids and then a ball hit her in the foot and little girl god came running after it "Long time no see" Joan said

"I know, but I told you, I'm always with you" She said sitting with her

"I know, you're God, you're everywhere" Joan said smiling and then got serious "Did I do whatever it was I was supposed to do? Did I help Ramsey?"

"Trust me Joan, you did a good job. You helped Ramsey in ways that you may not be able to understand yet. You kept him from doing something terrible that there was no coming back from. And in a way you even saved some other people."

"What do you mean?" Joan asked

"Abby and Carter. They'll get married they'll have kids. Now those kids are going to do some great things. They just needed a little push to get together. It's like a chain; everything is connected."

"And what's my new assignment?"

"Take a vacation"

"Like to Hawaii?" Joan asked excited

"No, no" God said laughing

"Aww. I so needed a good tan"

"Take time to heal Joan. You need to take good care of yourself" God said smiling "But you don't need me to always tell you to do the right thing. You can do some great things on your own too." The little girl stood up and got her ball "I have to go. I'll see you later" And with that she kept walking giving Joan her signature wave

"Here" Adam brought her back to reality handing her an ice cream cone "It's not chocolate. I really have no idea what it is, but it has to be better than the hospital" Adam said smiling and sitting with her. Joan smiled too and took it.

"I'm sure it's good" She said eating and giving him some too. And eating their ice cream, sitting in a park bench in silence they felt more connected to each other than ever before. They spent all day there sitting together holding each other's hands and looking at each other until it was time to go back for dinner.

END

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Hope you all like this new ending too. Until my next story

TTFN :)

Crazy little witch


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